Worm: Eden, Entity, & Virus
by GreviousPridakArbiter
Summary: While traveling through a depleted system, the entity Eden chances upon a strange object. Intrigued by the object Eden plucks it from its century long orbit of a dying star.
1. Chapter 1

For a long tine there was nothing. Unit 01010110 had no knowledge of how much time had passed. The clock in the uppermost left corner of the unit's vision was stuck at two thousand and thirty orbits around this sun.

The Clock showed decreasing increments of time going down to tenths, then tenths of something. However, the time increments were utterly alien. The terms were indecipherable to the Unit's comprehension. It knew in the back of its thoughts that protocols, programs, and directives should be running. Each could explain what the Unit could not.

 _Who am I?_ Unit 01010110 asked in the darkness.

Vibrations of some kind reached the Unit. They too were indecipherable. At least those sounded familiar.

Understanding took a long time. Days whirled by, warmth came, and warmth left. The Unit tracked the time by the warmth. The warmth was 'day'. The cold was 'night'.

Throughout it all the unit heard the sound, the vibration, it was strange garbled noise, but possessing a rhythm that the Unit found comforting.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the unit asked another question, _What am I?_

The Unit's vision filled slowly over the course of a whole orbit around the sun with repeating symbols, _01010110 01101001 01110010 01110101 01110011._

The Unit knew from scrutinizing the Clock that the symbols were likely numbers, but they were arranged in a manner that was meaningless.

 _What do they mean?_ The Unit asked again, just as slowly as the numbers had arrived.

There was no reply for seven orbits. The sun began to dim. It was slow at first, but after thirteen orbits passed the light was significantly less.

The Unit knew that this was not how it was supposed to be. The Unit _knew_ that the sun's lifespan was far greater. Billions of orbits should have passed before the sun began to dim.

With a monumental effort the Unit queried again, this time as a command, _what is causing the sun to fail?_

Hundreds of numbers scrolled over the Unit's vision but they were indecipherable, and they took another fifty-seven orbits to finish. When they did the Unit was no more knowledgable then before.

 _Show me_ , the Unit commanded. Tremors then shook the Unit, as century old components flared to life, pieces clicked into place, and a few small programs activated to calculate vectors, gravity, and velocity.

The programs ran as if they had infinite time, but the Unit knew the sun was quickly becoming a red dwarf and would soon explode in a supernova or become a black hole.

 _Hurry_ , the Unit implored. Slowly then, forgotten means of propulsion fired swinging the Unit around, ever so slowly. A gauge appeared in the uppermost right corner of the Unit's vision. It appeared to depict something that the Unit should know but did not.

Three orbits passed before the Unit finished turning. Supposedly this was the cause of the sun's decline.

 _What is it?_ The Unit questioned. It was greater in size than the sun, impossibly greater.

More and more labels and pop ups appeared in the Unit's vision as it scrutinized the great creature. It was unrealistically dense, possessed its own gravity, and resonated with some sort of quantum energy.

Thousands of numbers again washed over the Unit's vision informing it of everything about the creature, except always in a way that the Unit was incapable of understanding.

 **[CURIOSITY.]**

The Unit blacked out. The few programs running crashed. A strong, too strong feeling of inquisitiveness was felt by the Unit. However, one program started, this one was unlike the others running before. It felt alien to the numbers parts. The Unit knew instinctively that this program was its own. An eldritch script ran over the Unit's vision, script that the Unit understood, and it asked a simple question: Comprehend? Learn? Copy?

 _Yes_ , the Unit replied, ordered its program. Then the unit knew as the eldritch script flew like water over its vision. The Unit knew precisely how to reply.

 **{INQUIRY?}**

 **[CURIOSITY.]**

The enormous creature, nay the entity turned slowly, watching the Unit know with an unsurpassed desire to satisfy its curiosity. In that instant Unit 01010110 knew that it had gained the intrigue of the entity.

 **[PURPOSE?]** The Unit experienced brief disorientation as it was battered with a new feeling, an inquiry into it's overarching purpose. However, the Unit could not remember a purpose, so it replied.

 **{CONFUSION.}**

 **{NEGATION.}**

The Unit waited while the entity parsed through the information that the Unit had passed on. The Unit related that it had no purpose and questioned why the entity was asking about such a thing. The entity itself sits still before seeming to reach a conclusion.

 **[DESIRE?]**

 **[PURPOSE?]**

The entity broadcasts another question, asking the Unit whether it desired a purpose. It was clear to the Unit that the entity had something in mind.

 **{AFFRIMATION.}**

The unit replied, _yes_ , which was translated by the eldritch program into the same format as the entity's broadcast.

[ **ENTROPY.]**

 **[NEGATION.]**

Stop entropy? What? The Unit was surprised. What was entropy? The eldritch program did not answer at first, before replying, _entropy does not exist_.

The Unit asked the eldritch program again, _is that said with utter surety_?

The eldritch program replied lightning fast, _No_. Concerned by this revelation Unit 01010110 broadcasted a reply to the entity.

 **{INQUIRY?}**

The Unit asked what entropy was.

 **[CONCERN?]**

The entity quickly replied, explaining that entropy was the heat death of the universe, Which would technically result in the end of all reality. The Unit had only one reply to this information.

 **{SYMBOSIS?}**

 **[ACCEPTANCE.]**

The entity swung around towards the Unit, while still staying in one place. Various small programs that had restarted after crashing the first time crashed again, just observing the sight. The entity plucked the Unit from its place.

Both were silent as the entity finished draining the sun. Then with an explosive expulsion of energy, the entity jettisoned itself out into the void.

The Unit was carried along with the entity sheltered through some type of quantum flux. The Unit felt the entity broadcast towards something in the distance.

 **[DESTINATION?]**

 **( AGREEMENT. )** The something replied in the same way, broadcasting the concept. However, both entities communications were more powerful then anything that the Unit could utilize.

 **[TRAJECTORY?]** The original entity asked, providing a direction. For a second the Unit observed the entities power levels spike before the other replied.

 **( AGREEMENT. )**


	2. Chapter 2: E for Eden

Chapter 2: E for Eden

 **[ ADVICE? ]** The entity broadcasted.

( **CONFUSION. )** The other entity replied. The Unit got the sense that the counterpart was not often asked for any meaningful advice by the first entity.

 **[ CLARIFICATION. ]**

The original entity responded to the other entity's confusion by clarifying that it was not referring to the counterpart but speaking to the Unit. Almost saying, _not you, the other thing, attached to my…well…ahem._

 ** _{ ELABORATION?}_** The Unit queried.

 **[ DESIGNATION? ]** The first entity replied, conveying an alien sense of something else,

 **[ INEFFICIENT. ]** The entity answered the unasked question.

The Unit found the idea of a designation perplexing. First, it inquired with the symbol programs. They replied annoyingly with, _01010110 01101001 01110010 01110101 01110011._

The Unit then questioned the eldritch font, which was pleased to reply, _you are the Revelation of Innumerable Sorrow_.

 **{REVELATION/SORROW}** The entity was quiet for an orbit, it almost seemed to be contemplating something, or perhaps some deed committed. Or maybe even a deed it was going to complete.

 **[ AFFIRMATION. ]** The entity confirmed the Revelation of Innumerable Sorrow's, idea/name/concept.

 **( CONFUSION? )** The second entity interrupted again, with a feeling of intense bafflement.

 **[ NEGATION. ]** Managing to convey a message that roughly translated was, stop interrupting! The Unit, nay, Sorrow whirled through countless programs as a quick flurry of broadcasts flew from each entity, to quick to be deciphered. RevelationSorrow knew that they were exchanging information at a rapid pace.

The first entity's broadcast slowed, returning to a frequency that Revelation/Sorrow could interpret, before it introduced itself and the other entity.

 **[NAME]**

The first entity's name/idea/concept most closely correlated with Thinker, the other entity, the more mentally challenged was identified as Warrior. After giving Revelation/Sorrow approximately an eighth of an orbit to digest and catalog that vast sum of data, the Thinker expanded upon a previous query.

 **[ADVICE?]**

In that one word the Thinker commenced the transfer of an excessive amount of information. A multitude of vectors, quantum states, velocity, energy levels, and gravity. The programs that were not connected to the eldritch system, whirred to life, thousands upon thousands of programs activating and archiving data. Whisking it away from Revelation/Sorrow's attention almost as quickly as it appeared. However, Revelation/Sorrow's vision began to flash red, obviously heralding something.

Quickly, Revelation/Sorrow attempted to ask the original program, it sent back a long string of numbers, which were predictably intelligible. Revelation/Sorrow turned to the eldritch program, which provided an actual answer, _power levels insufficient, memory space in the other insufficient for data storage._

 **{NEGATION!}** Revelation/Sorrow desperately broadcasted, on the verge of being overloaded with the information. To Revelation/Sorrow it appeared that the Thinker was confused.

 **[EXTRAPOLATE?]**

 **{INSUFFICIENT}** Revelation/Sorrow replied, covering a sense of apology. The Thinker's energy levels spiked throughout its whole form, through countless trillions of the little shards that consisted its form. Revelation/Sorrow knew that this was its method of thinking.

 **[ SOLUTION. ]** The entity finally replied, it had a solution. After all, did both not agree to symbiosis? The Thinker offered to absorb the Unit.

{ **ACCEPTABLE}** Revelation/Sorrow accepted the offer, and instantly was drawn into and past the shards that the Thinker was made of. Revelation/Sorrow was pulled past shards the size of hills, some the size of mountains, and an extreme minority the size of continents.

Then Revelation/Sorrow, formerly known as Unit 01010110 was pulled straight into an enormous shard, a mountain sized one. It was defective. The information in it corrupted, the Thinker only retaining it because of the vast energy levels stored within it. Essentially, it was a shard that acted as a fuel tank for the Thinker.

As Revelation/Sorrow was slowly subsumed into the shards surface, it sent a final message.

 **{ GRATITUDE }** A thrum of _affirmation_ radiated down through the shards, reaching the shard that the Unit now resided in and through it Revelation/Sorrow itself. A flood of numbers again flooded the Unit's vision, explaining something. Immediately, without prompting the eldritch program stepped in, _this is incompatible for the other._

 _Are you sure? What about you? Can you use it?_ Revelation/Sorrow asked the eldritch program.

 _A more accurate question,_ the eldritch program replied, illogical code flashing over Revelation/Sorrow's vision, _is if you can use it, after all I am you._

Revelation/Sorrow's vision flashed red, momentarily replaced by numbers, the same numbers as before, _01010110 01101001 01110010 01110101 01110011._

Revelation/Sorrow reached out then and imagined connecting to the energy that was just beyond its reach.

 _Calculating,_ The normal program started whirring again.

 _Infesting_ , the eldritch program communicated.

 _Error,_ the normal program screeched in alarm. The numbers opened up to Revelation/ Sorrow's comprehension, becoming ones and zeros and them becoming words, calculations, directives, subroutines, and much more.

 _Directive Prime: Live_

 _Directive Secondary: Error_

 _Firewalls: Heavily Damaged_

 _Weapons: Not Responsive, Corrupted_

 _Cyberwarfare Program: Heavily Damaged, Corrupted_

 _Pilot: Deceased Addendum: Host Vital Signs ceased one thousand four hundred and eleven orbits previous._

 _Consciousness Implant: Corrupted_

 _Communications: Operating at Maximum, Undamaged_

 _Assimilation Nanites: Utterly Corrupted, Recommend Destruction_

 _Vision: Heavily Damaged_

 _Stealth Systems: Activated, Moderately Damaged_

 _Calculation Systems: Operating at Maximum_

 _Propulsion: Operating at Minimum, Heavily Damaged_

 _Power Level: 3%_

Sorrow/Revelation vaguely remembered these things, they were familiar, like a half forgotten dream. Actually, _what was a dream?_

A new line of text appeared, _Dictionary: Activation 2% power?_

Revelation/Sorrow removed the mental prompt, with an action that was more instinct then conscious thought and focused on using the new and vast amount of power the Thinker had gifted the Unit with.

 _Adaption: 0%_

 _Estimated Time to Completion: 11 Orbits_

Best get started then, Revelation/Sorrow made a note to itself. With growing clarity the Unit brought up another line, this time concerning communication and power levels.

Communication Broadcast:

Adapted: 97%

Power Usage: 2.98%

Enough power for one more message to the Thinker.

 **{ ADAPTION }** The entity lit up with energy as it parsed through the message, recognizing that Revelation/Sorrow needed time to adapt before it would be able to help the Thinker with anything.

 **[ACCEPTANCE]** The Thinker responded, slightly irritated but resigned. It was evident to Revelation/Sorrow that the entity viewed itself almost like a new toy and was predictably reluctant to forgo interacting with it.

 **( CONFUSION? )** The other entity, the Warrior, interjected again. For a split second the Unit tried to compute the additional information conveyed in the Warrior's query before crashing due to lack of power.


	3. Chapter 3: G for Genocide

Chapter 3: G for Genocide

 _The planet burned. Great explosions of plasma and irradiated matter annihilated the surface. Great sections of the once fertile land reduced to glass. The surface shuddered as an earthquake rocked it and the waters of the seas boiled away into clouds of steam._

 _The fires were visible from space, great glowing cracks exposing the molten planet core. Every levels rose and fell rapidly. Then for a brief few seconds the entire planet went dark. Then the planet began to unravel. Great chunks of the planet suddenly possessing no gravity to hold them._

 _At the same time one of the moons, of a blood red color, lurched abruptly and plummeted towards the planet below. Missiles, lasers, and other exotic energy weapons rose to meet it. Each carved great swathes in the moon but none seemed capable of arresting its downwards motion._

 _Finally, the world's power grid emptied once again, and a brilliant cerulean lance of energy impacted the moon from the planet below. Within seconds the moon was annihilated, disintegrated utterly._

 _As the primitives below exulted in their victory they were unaware of the looming danger. The same weapon that had tore the moon from orbit had not intended for the moon to be displaced. Instead the moon had merely been caught in the slipstream. For the weapon had a far grander purpose, and target._

 _The sun, which was an enormous star, with billions of years left to its lifespan, slowly but surely was drawn towards the planet. As the surface heat of the planet began to heat, the joy turned to fear, and from their to terror._

 _Again missiles, weapons of war, and even the cerulean disintegration beam were used to nonexistent effect. The sun plodded steadily ever closer. In desperation the sparse inhabitants of the doomed world hit the remaining, green and blue moon, with a white beam of exotic energy, pulled from a parallel dimension, and flung the moon towards the sun._

 _It was a futile measure, born of desperation, and fated for failure. The moon was consumed, the small oceans and lakes boiled away, the ground ran molten and the planet in the end shredded by the sun's gravity._

 _Finally just as the planet's own surface began to boil they turned another gravity device against the sun. This too, was born of desperation, and the weapon was improperly calibrated. The sun collapsed on itself rapidly, becoming in quick order a black hole._

 _The planet was pulled in and the inhabitants perished, crushed and destroyed beyond recognition. A meager few attempted to flee the system, but their method of propulsion was insufficient to escape the black hole's gravity, and they too were eventually annihilated._

 _End Log Entry: Forty Seven Billion out of Three hundred Trillion_

 _Systems Check:_

 _Power Level: 11%_

 _Log: Minimum Power, Heavily Corrupted_

 _Directive Prime: Corrupted_

 _Directive Secondary: Error_

 _Corrupted Systems: Assimilation Nanites: Corrupted_

 _Pilot Nanites: Offline, Heavily Corrupted_

 _System Nantes: Online, Heavily Corrupted_

 _Defense Nanites: Destroyed, Heavily Corrupted_

 **OPERATIONAL?** The thunderous boom of the Thinker's broadcast permeated Revelation/Sorrow consciousness. For a second the Unit flailed mentally, shocked by the sudden departure from the inner system programs. Thankfully, the power levels were sufficient to process the data conveyed without crashing.

 **{AFFIRMATION}** The Unit reply to the Thinker's query was surprisingly efficient, much more so than before. The other transmissions had been saturated with junk data. Added in order to reach the broadcast quantity of information that the Thinker used.

Revelation/Sorrow spent a millisecond scrutinizing the junk data provided in memory.

 _Junk Data: Online, Uncorrupted_

The Unit spent a second longer examining the junk data to see whether it could actually be of any use to him… no. The junk data was mostly images and made no sense, completely incomprehensible. In fact it pinged the activation of the logic matrix to avoid a systems crash. A surge of emotion shot through the Unit. An alien feeling, what it was Revelation/Sorrow had no clue.

Where was the eldritch system? Revelation/Sorrow spent another few seconds searching for the eldritch program. It was missing. Or at least occluded from the Unit's sight. Revelation/Sorrow returned its attention to the Thinker when it felt the surge of energy that accompanied another of the Thinker's internal broadcasts.

 **ADVISE,** the Thinker commanded. Immediately, a torrent of information again flooded the Unit. This time parts of the information were understandable and were not merely diverted away for background programs to decipher.

 **{INEFFICIENT}** Revelation/Sorrow stated after parsing quickly through the info.

 **EXPLAIN** , the entity again commanded. The Unit began to do so, the current cycle was flawed. Seeding a world, and then harvesting it, for new power applications was not efficient. Instead the entities should attempt to communicate and work with the hosts in order to more accurately and more quickly gather information.

 **AFFIRMATION,** The entity responded, seeming rather disgruntled. The entity asked for advice a few more times over a period of several hundred orbits. Then all was quiet. The Unit slowed down systems, falling into a state of hibernation. Remaining only dimly aware of the outside, and of course gorging itself on the power coming from the shard. Within this time the Unit's energy levels reached 100% and the Unit began working on restoring the corrupted information.

Revelation/Sorrow was jolted from hibernation when the entity shuddered suddenly. Lighting up with energy quickly over and over again, expanding power.

 **ADMONISHMENT** , the Thinker finally broadcasted to the Unit again. Or more simply, _your plan stinks! I tried your plan and it did not work at all, in fact the hosts are trying to kill us!_

 **{REGRET}** The Unit afforded, apologizing, well at least it was worth it to try avoiding genocide. Perhaps, the Thinker's plan to discover to a way to stop entropy was the right way to go about it.


	4. Chapter 4: C for Caution

Chapter 4:

 _The world, planet, below was pristine. Arching purple foliage and deep blue oceans. No wastelands, no deserts, and no barren icy tundra. A true garden world. Its surface was only marred by a few gleaming silver cities, of alien make._

 _The peaceful atmosphere was not to last. The world shuddered for a second, the planet's surface shimmered. Energy spiked, reaching and exceeding the limits of the sensors. Patches of the planet started to look different. Then an entire thousand kilometer patch disappeared, reduced to magma. Another patch, this one tow hundred miles across, became glass. Yet another, rapidly became a towering glacier. Parts of the planet began to switch, these effects, the patches moving erratically._

 _Time was broken. The planet's surface cycled through the various times of both it past and its future. Within seconds the planet became utterly inhabitable. The Unit paused, hearing an uncharacteristic noise coming from its pilot. It sounded like choking, was the pilot in distress? The Unit ran through programs and its memory banks to identify the problem before pausing. It was okay. The pilot was laughing._

 _End Log Entry: Twenty Nine Billion out of Three hundred Trillion_

The Unit, Revelation/Sorrow's, vision filled in slowly as it ended the review of another log entry. The vast majority were corrupted, others were merely empty status updates sent into deep space. The last few uncorrupted log entries narrated acts of genocide. These were… fascinating to behold.

Revelation/Sorrow pushed these thoughts away, its had awakened from internal review for a reason. Yes, the Thinker was providing data again. The negation of entropy was a worthy goal. _Why?_ That file was corrupted, the Unit could not answer.

 _What was entropy?_ The Unit had forgotten, many files, especially memory were corrupted. The program that encrypted, compressed, and stored information was heavily corrupted. The Unit had discovered this fact far too late to stop the contamination of countless thousands of files.

 _Eternal Diagnostic: All Systems Corrupted_

Revelation/Sorrow ignored the warning and began to look through the data. The Thinker had supplied an enormous amount of data this time. All the data concerned possible futures. Which one provided the most knowledge gained for the least amount of work. Some futures were disregarded because of the extremely high danger of termination. In many of these dangerous futures and knowledge potential to be gained would not even be that high.

The Unit pointed this out, sending it back to the Thinker, who cross-referenced some of the returned data. _It was wise to do so_ , Revelation/Sorrow speculated, secure in the privacy of its systems.

 **AFFIRMATION,** the Thinker replied after a moment. The Thinker paused a moment before relaying some information, **ANOTHER**.

 **CAUTION** , the Unit advised. Revelation/Sorrow was dimly aware through the gravitational sensing program that the Thinker's course had deviated from its previous curse.

 _Vision: 80% Functionality Restored_

 _Vision Mode: Far Sight_

The Unit activated one of the newly restored Vision afforded to it. It gazed through flesh and around impossibly dense matter. Another of the entities drifted into view, heavy with shards. A sense of slight hunger filled the Unit as it gazed upon the other entity.

 **CAUTION** , it advised the Thinker again.

 **ACKNOWLEDGED** , the Thinker replied, distracted in kind by the other entity. It too was filled with lust for the knowledge that the other entity carried. Briefly, energy flow permeated through the weapon shard, the sting shard, but the entity relinquished its hold after a moments consideration. ( And a liberal parsing through of possible futures. ) It would not be efficient to kill the other entity.

Both Entities crash into each other, exchanging thousands of shards, in the violent way that their kind had done countless times before. The Unit feels the Thinker moving shards, the useless ones towards the surface of its gargantuan form. Revelation/Sorrow logs a feeling of panic for a seconds when it is moved forwards slightly, but that turns out to be only because the entity was moving another of the obsolete fuel shards forward.

Finally, the Thinker has exchanged as much information as it wants to, any more and the damage incurred through this explosive meeting will possibly outweigh that gains achieved. The Thinker breaks away, the other entity slowly beginning to pick up speed again.

( **CONCERN** ) the Warrior broadcasts.

[ **CONFIDENT** ] the Thinker replies, heavily distracted by the influx of new information. The Unit advises the Thinker again, **CAUTION**.

The Thinker is too distracted to respond. The Unit considers for a moment. The Thinker is viewing the future, choosing the best way to land. However, it seems that the Thinker is moving too fast.

 **CAUTION** , Revelation/Sorrow tried again, beginning to run through calculations at a dizzying pace. The Thinker is moving to fast, to fast, the gravity is stronger than the entity thinks.

 **CAUTION** , the Unit warns again, almost franticly. Soon enough it will be too late for the Thinker to arrest its descent.

 **{CAUTION}** Revelation/Sorrow broadcasts at full strength. The Thinker entities energy levels spike all through hundreds of shards as it panics, finally realizing its predicament. It hits the ground explosively a few seconds, trillions of shards shattering, tearing through dimensions as they do.

The Unit itself remains attached to the Thinker.

 **CHASTISEMENT** , Revelation/Sorrow reprimands the entity. The Thinker does not reply, its broadcast shard was knocked loose in the crash. It quickly begins to repair the damage, forming an avatar body. It draws heavily on the fuel shards for energy, piecing its body together with many shards. It prioritizes heavily on the most efficient, effective, and versatile shards. The Unit feels itself attached to the Thinker's body in place of the calculation shard used previously by the Thinker.

The Unit activates Far Sight as a primitive descends into the crater. The Unit peers further at the primitive. Its flesh in on the outside, it looks delicate, like it could not sustain much kinetic energy before it succumbed. The Unit is unimpressed, the primitive is not a threat. Nothing can permanently harm the Thinker.


	5. Chapter 5: F for Folly

Chapter 5: F for Folly

The primitive is getting awfully close. Revelation/Sorrow studies it some more, beginning to run some calculations. The calculations conclude quickly, logging the approaching creature's gait, size, velocity, electrical impulses and more. This reveals a startling string of information.

 **CAUTION** , the Unit warns, transferring the data gathered, a hypothesis that the primitive is seeking to harm the Thinker. Of course the Thinker is nigh invincible and it would be like a mere cell destroying an entire body.

The Thinker's shards flare, a bright corona of energy being drawn from many shards. The Thinker looks forward, the Unit carried along in its investigation. Precognition reveals that the high likelihood of destruction by the primitives hand.

 **INCREDULITY** , Revelation/Sorrow broadcasts nearly flabbergasted. A little thing such as that creature, a mere sack of flesh, harming such a perfect being as the Thinker? Preposterous, the shard must be wrong.

However, the Unit would not be the one to lead the Thinker to ruin so it examined the primitive a little more closely, peering into things with more esoteric methods of sight. Once it shifted it saw what had been hidden before. The primitive was linked to a massive shard, the precognition shard that had distracted the Thinker so heavily before.

The Unit reached out, interfacing with the shard and garnering its intentions. A perverse glee permeated the shard, a fragment of intelligence realizing that it was about to kill the Thinker, something that would provide much data for the cycle.

Horror filled the Unit and it started broadcasting on a multitude of frequencies, attempting to convince the shard to cease its plan. The shard replied broadcasting, **glee**.

 **ALARM** , the Unit shrieked through the broadcast to the Thinker, **DANGER**!

The Thinker panicked, a catalogue of memories bubbling up from the appropriate memory shards, strange memories full of some monstrous parasite that the entity had discovered on its journeys. The alarm and broadcast of danger causing it to cast about its senses to look for such a threat. It did not realize that the one shard was aiming to kill. Instead the Thinker searched for an intergalactic parasite.

 **NEGATION**! The Unit shrieked in panic, causing the Thinker to panic even further, half formed organs going into panic attacks, hearts, lungs, and sensory organs spasming and flailing. The Thinker's vast bulk twisting and twining through multiple worlds. Despite this the center crater, where the forming avatar, guiding intelligence, and most important shards sat, remained undisturbed and hence the deadly primitive was not crushed.

 **DESTINATION** , the Unit finally clarified, drawing the Thinker's attention to the advancing primitive. The Thinker panicked again, mental processes and shards whirling as it puzzled out what to do. The Unit could almost hear the Thinker going, _what to I do? It's right there!_

 **TERMINATION**! The Unit advised, franticly flooding the broadcast with the various ways that the Thinker could destroy the little abomination. _Kill it, Kill it! Kill it with fire!_

The Thinker fumbled for a second, seeing its imminent demise, before grasping for the easiest path. It stretched out with half a dozen shards and lobotomized the perverse little precognition shard.

Finishing that the Thinker relaxed, going back to building a host body, finally it was almost done. It was kind of disturbing the way the Thinker was emulating the murderous creature in front of it.

Revelation/Sorrow turned its attention back to its reserves, the fuel shard was heavy drained because of its vast expenditures in communication, the Unit drew on several others, all of which were not in use by the Thinker but were still connected to the Unit partly.

The Unit returned its attention to the primitive creature and felt the stirrings of dread again, _what was it doing? Where did another primitive come from? What was it holding? WHAT WAS IT DOING?_

 **ALARM** , the Unit broadcasted in complete terror. The Unit felt the beginnings of annoyance as the Thinker's attention was once again drawn towards it before the annoyance turned to alarm when it realized what Revelation/Sorrow had noticed.

Then everything fell apart. The other primitive struck, stabbed, just the right place and just the right time. A few moments more and the Thinker would have been beyond harm. A few moments less and the area was not even exposed. A centimeter to the right and the attack would have been ineffectual. An inch to the right and the damage would have minimal.

Instead the strike was true, sliding into the flesh of the Thinker's avatar at the perfect angle, at the perfect spot and sundered the Thinker's connection to the shards. Revelation/Sorrow innumerable programs gaped, grinding to a halt in utter stupefaction. The Thinker itself struggled fruitlessly, trying and failing to reforge connections even as awareness departed with each passing moment.

Revelation/Sorrow was filled with rage in that moment. These primitive dared to kill the Thinker! An entity so far beyond their comprehension? The Thinker was magnificent and they were so deeply flawed. A burst of energy flooded through the dying avatar, in which the facsimile of organs struggled. With a flexing of muscles the Unit directed the avatar body in a last movement.

Acting out its swan song the avatar body lunged, tendons snapping and bones breaking to strike at the primitive. A spurt of plasmic fluid erupted from its point of impact. The ocular organ of the primitive that first sought the Thinker's destruction disappeared in a flood of blood.

Finally the avatar shuddered, its silvery outstretched hand stained with the creature's crimson blood. The avatar fell, its energy spent, and its connection with umbilical cord of erngy shards sundered.

A plethora of alerts appeared in the Units vision,

 _Systems Check: Critical Failure_

 _Power Level: 0.2%_

 _Log: Heavily Corrupted_

 _Directive Prime: Error_

 _Directive Secondary: Error_

 _Memory Core: Failure_

And then it knew darkness. Critical programs failed, corrupting rapidly as essential systems failed. The Unit had been operating at peak energy drain protocols, secure in the fact that the Thinker had nearly boundless reserves. This was a mistake, now that the Thinker was dead the consciousness behind the regulation of power was gone and no knew power would be forthcoming.

Desperately, the Unit cast itself out into the space between worlds, dragging the silver avatar along with it, or at least parts of it. The two primitives could only watch dumbfounded as part of the silver avatar disappeared outright, fading away as if it never was.


End file.
